Contact device.



PATENTED AUG. 11, 1908. s. B. STEWART, JR.

CONTACT DEVICE. APPLICATION FILED MAE.1, 1904-.

BEST AVAILABLE. COPY 3o 7 piglil Inventor, Samuel B. StevyawQJr:

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL B. STEWART, JR, OF SOHENEGTADY, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

CONTACT DEVICE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 11, 1908.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL B. STEWART, Jr., a citizen of the United States, residing at Schenectady, county of Schenectady, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Contact Devices, of which the following is a specification.

My present invention relates generally to devices for making traveling contact between electric conductors and vehicles such as electrically-propelled railway cars, locomotives, etc., and more particularly to devices employing laterally-extending contact surfaces in distinction from those employing grooved contact wheels.

The features of novelty which characterize my invention are pointed out with particularity in the claims annexed to and forming a part of this specification. For a better an understanding of my invention, however, reference may be had to the accompanying description and drawings in which I have described and illustrated two of the forms in which it may be embodied.

Of the drawings, Figure 1 is an elevation partly in section showing one form of my contact device and a portion of the vehicle on which it is mounted Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same form and Fig. 3 is a view taken similarly to Fig. 1 showing a portion of a modified form.

Under some conditions of electric railway service it has been found desirable to locate the current supplyin conductor over the car but at one side 0 its longitudinal axis. The construction which I have shown in the first two figures of the drawing is particularly adapted to meet such conditions.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, a transverse section of a curved car, locomotive or other vehicle roof is shown at 1. A suitably constructed platform 2 mounted on the roof has secured to its upper side the base 3 of the con tact device. The base 3 is provided with three 4 pillow blocks 4 in which a horizontal shaft 5 extending transversely to the longitudinal axis of the car is mounted. The base 3 is also formed with upwardly-extending projections 6 and 7 located some distance to the left and right, respectively, of the shaft 5 as seen in Fig. 2 and inline with the central pillow block 4. The projections 6 and 7 each carry an eye bolt 8. The inner ends of the eye bolts 8-are connected to the ends of helical springs 9. The other ends of the helical springs 9 are secured to ears 10 projecting from a substantially vertical member 11. The lower portion of the member 11 is bifurcated. The bifurcations which straddle the central pillow block 4 are apertured to receive the shaft 5 to which they are secured.

A block 1 1 is slidingly mounted in a socket or passage formed for the purpose in the upper end of the member 11. The block 11 is secured to the middle of a contact surface 5 carrying member or bar 12. Collars 13 and 14 are secured to the ends of the shaft 5 beyond the outer pillow blocks 4. The collars 13 and 14 are each provided on their upper sides with a substantially vertical socket 15 in which a tubular member 16 is secured. The collars 13 and 14 are also provided with upwardly extending ears 17 and 18 respectively. One end of a bar 19 is pivoted to the ears 17 and one end of a similar bar 20 is pivoted to the ears 18. The other ends of the bars 19 and 20 are formed with elongated slots 21 through which pass pivot pins 22 carried by ears 23 secured to the outer ends of the bar or member 12. Beyond the ears 23 so are secured the upper ends of rods 24 which slide within or telescope together with the tubular members 16. Helical springs 25 are located in the tubular member 16 below the rods 24. These springs serve to hold the bar 12 up in the position shown in Fig. 1.

The bar 19 carries a pin 26 which passes through an elongated slot 27 formed for the purpose in the bar 20. The slot 27 extends parallel to the length of the bar 20. The bars 19 and 20 thus arranged form a lazy tongs connection which insures parallelism between the member 12 and shaft 5 without regard tothe distance between them.

The bar 12 carries on its upper side a centrally elongated block or portion 28 and end blocks or portions 29 and 30. Elongated cylindrical members or rollers 31 and 32 in line with each other and parallel to the shaft 5 are journaled between the blocks 30, 28 1 and 29, respectively. The members 31 and 32 form the portions of the contact device intended to engage the conductor. The upper sides of the cylindrical members 31 and 32 are flush with the upper surface of the blocks 28 and 29. The blocks 29 and 30 are formed with outwardly and downwardly extending wings or guards 33.

Assuming the overhead conductor to be located above the vehicle and to the right for instance in Fig. 1 in such position as to be engaged by the member or roller 32, the weight of the conductor will cause the con tact device to be tilted about the shaft 5 from the position shown in Fig. 2 against the action of one or the other of the springs 9, depending on the direction of movement of the vehicle, and will, at the same time, tend to press the right hand rod 24 down in its tubular member 16 against the action of the corresponding spring 25. By reason of the action between the bars 19 and 20, however, any movement given to one end of the bar 12 will produce a corresponding move ment to the other end of the bar 12 and there will be no tendency of the rods 24 cramping or binding in the tubular member 16. The roller 32 will therefore be perfectly free to maintain contact with the conductor under the action of the springs 9 and 25.

When the vehicle is reversed in direction the conductor will engage the left hand roller 31 and the same equalizing action will be secured as above described.

The construction shown in Fig. 3 differs from that shown in Figs. 1 and 2 in the fact that one long roller member 34 is used as shown in Fig. 3. In this case, of course, the middle block 28 is dispensed with. The

construction shown in Fig. 3 can be em 'ployed in connection with a conductor located at the side of the longitudinal center of the car-or where the conductor is normally located above the center of the car, as

.in either case a parallel movement of the bar 12 is a desirable feature.

It will be observed that in the construction illustrated the plane of movement of the links or bars supporting the contact surface to give it parallel movement does not intersect the contact surface at an angle, but

contains lines parallel to the contact surface. The applicant believes himself to have been the first to produce a contact device of the character illustrated in which the links or bars are arranged as described, and

does not wish the claims hereinafter made to be limited to the construction shown more than is made necessary by the state of the art.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is,

1. In a traveling contact device for motor cars, an elongated contact surface disposed transversely of the car, means for yieldingly forcing said contact surface upward, and means for insuringa parallel movement of the contact surface in response to the variations of the pressure exerted upon it by the conductor, comprising pivoted links or bars movable with respect to each other in a plane having lines parallel to the contact surface. 1

2; In combination, a shaft and contact member substantially parallel thereto, telescopic connections between the shaft and the member, and means for insuring a parallel movement between the shaft and the member, comprising pivoted links or bars having movement relative to each other in the plane which includes the shaft and the bar.

3. In combination, a shaft and a traveling contact member parallel to each other, means for supporting and yieldingly forcing said contact member away from said shaft, and bars or links connecting each end of the shaft to opposite ends of said contact member to maintain parallelism thereof.

4. In combination, a shaft, a' contact member substantially parallel thereto, telescopic connections between each end of the shaft and the corresponding end of the contact member, and link connections between each end of the shaft and the opposite end of the contact member.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand this 29th day of February, 1904.

SAMUEL B. STEWART, JR.

I/Vitnesses:

EDWARD WILLIAMS, Jr., HELEN ORFORD. 

